A Tale of Two Loves

An original article by Edward Spence published in the online journal Diasporic Literature Spot in September, 22, 2011 in both Greek and English. The original article in English was translated by the journal into Greek as well. The article analyses the two types of Love in Aristophanes' and Diotima's speeches (romantic and platonic) in Plato's Symposium, and their contemporary relevance. As an academic philosopher Spence sees his wider role in society as that of a public commentator on matters of public interest and significance. Using his philosophical knowledge and expertise Spence creates short media articles to analyse and evaluate complex social issues philosophically for dissemination to a wide public audience. He draws on both ancient and contemporary philosophy including epistemology, ethics and metaphysics, in order to situate those social issues in the wider historical context of western civilisation. It is important to do so in order to raise awareness of the continuity of thought that shapes and grounds our understanding of these contemporary social issues. The media articles that Spence writes and publishes in newspapers and magazines are part of his Public Philosophy research output. It also includes the writing and performance of original philosophy plays in public venues as part of his Theatre of Philosophy project. Unlike academic journal papers the media articles are crafted and written in a rhetorical style designed to capture and hold the attention and interest of public audiences but without compromising the philosophical integrity of the ideas and arguments that inform those articles.